(CNN) - At Friday morning’s White House event on the issue of long term unemployment, President Obama will be introduced by a California man named Erick Varela who served as a combat infantryman in the 82nd Airborne in Iraq, according to a White House official who shared Erick’s personal story with CNN.

When Erick, a skilled heavy equipment operator, left the Army in 2008 and returned home to Manteca, in California’s San Joaquin Valley, the housing crisis was in full swing and he was unable to find work. He applied at fast food restaurants and in retail but couldn’t find a job. His financial situation became so dire that he and his wife, Katey, lived out of their car when they could no longer afford to pay their rent.FULL POST

(CNN) - The results of an environmental impact study into the Keystone XL pipeline project will be announced Friday afternoon, two senior administration officials and another source familiar with the timing told CNN.

Waukesha, Wisconsin (CNN) - Once, Barack Obama spoke of what he wanted for his presidency in terms of healing a nation divided. "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal," he said.

Today, Obama is talking about executive orders and executive actions - with a pen or phone - if a divided Congress won't or can't act on an agenda he laid out this week in his State of the Union address.

Nashville (CNN) - It's a role that's still on the mind of actress Ashley Judd.

At an education event hosted by President Barack Obama in Nashville, Judd, who considered and then decided against a campaign to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said she may decide to run for political office in the future.

All are catnip for the political left, and all were highlighted by President Barack Obama this week as he informally launched the November election campaign for 36 Senate seats and a new House of Representatives.

CNN's GUT CHECK | for January 30, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING …. JAKE TAPPER EXCLUSIVE: OBAMA SAYS WALMART, APPLE, FORD AND MORE PLEDGE HELP FOR LONG-TERM JOBLESS ... CNN’s Jake Tapper & Sherisse Pham report: - The White House has secured commitments from some of the nation's largest companies, signing on to a plan to boost hiring of the long-term unemployed "What we have done is to gather together 300 companies, just to start with, including, some of the top 50 companies in the country, companies like Walmart, and Apple, Ford and others, to say let's establish best practices," President Barack Obama told CNN chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview.

"Because they've been unemployed ... so long, folks are looking at that gap in the resume and they're weeding them out before these folks even get a chance for an interview," said Obama. As the economy slowly recovers from the recession, the number of workers who have not found a job for at least six months or more has grown. "Do not screen people out of the hiring process just because they've been out of work for a long time," said the President.

Gut Check DVR: Watch the entire exclusive interview with President Barack Obama on CNN's "New Day" Friday at 6 a.m. ET and "The Lead With Jake Tapper" at 4 p.m. ET.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Sandra Fluke, the women’s rights activist who rose to stardom during the debate over Obamacare’s contraception coverage, tells CNN she is “strongly considering” running for Congress now that Rep. Henry Waxman is retiring from his California House seat.

“I’m flattered that I’m being discussed as a potential candidate, especially for Rep. Waxman's seat, considering his incredible legacy,” Fluke, 32, said in a statement. “A number of folks I respect very deeply have reached out today and encouraged me to run.”

Cambridge, Maryland (CNN) – House Republican leaders unveiled on Thursday an outline of immigration "standards," saying there "will be no special path to citizenship" for the country's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

The document says, "These persons could live legally and without fear in the U.S., but only if they were willing to admit their culpability, pass rigorous background checks, pay significant fines and back taxes, develop proficiency in English and American civics, and be able to support themselves and their families (without access to public benefits)."